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MEMOIR 




ROBERT PARKER PARROTT. 



FREDERIC de PEYSTER, LL.D., F.R.H.S. 






$ 



0/ 



N E W YORK: 

MDCCCI.XXVIII. 






LL.D. 

Master of Arts. Colombia College, of Ne- 
Ross Mm, in rut Township vi Red Hook, near Tivolj 

September, *S74. 

Judge Advocate, with the rank of Ma JOB, 1S45. 

Colonel N. Y. S. I. 1846; aeelgnedfor "Meritorious Conduct," 1849 j 

Brigadier-General lor " Important $ rtfa " Lfi 1 "-- 1 appointment— in N. Y. State— to that rank, 

blth«rt.. .i,-,nv,.| is-.i, M. F. 5, N. Y. 

mnt-Gbnrral, S. N. Y. 1865, 

Brevet Major-Gbnbral, S. N. Y., (or •• Miritoritnu Service*." 

[first and onl aooor (the highest) irom S. N. Y.,] and the only 

officer tih - i.r. .. ientl)Iotfia United States.] 

l,v *■ 8p*eiai Act," m" newfrefff R< i toton," iVi n For* Sad Legislature, April, 1866. 

:. Page 5142. 

dier-Otneral J. WATTS 
the National Guard 






LAWS OF NEW FORK, Vol, 

0,ncurr< El ! 

int ry .'/.,,. 
i 

. i ratefol duty to acknowledge in a suitable 

. . .' :i i ; 1 iin hi li. .i . lie, rendered tu the National Guard and 

r nor be and be it hereby author- 

ller-i eneral J. WATTS DE PUYSTER [de Peyiter] 
York, for meritorious: services, 
■ ■ aferredi 
■■ Kxn YORK, in Autmbly, April 9tb, 186G. 
../ tA* Auembly. 

3. B. Ci-shman. Clerk. 
op New Vouk, in Senate, April SOta, 1S66. 
irder uj the Senate, 

Us. Terwilliger, Clerk. 



which mark of honor shall be slated Ib 

Stats 
The foregoing Resolution was duly passed. 



Bye 



The fongol&g Resolution was duly pal 
m Su in m 

MILITARY AGENT, 9. V Y., (In Europe.) 1851-»3. 
Honorary Mbmbbr, Third Clam, of the Milii ui the Loyal Legion of the U. S. 

First 1 I orpi l nlon, 

Member— luth June field Memorial Association' 

MEMBER of nil Netherlandish Literary Association 

Idttrkunde] et Ujden, Hull&nd. 
RECIPIEN1 ■ H.R.M.". n. Km- .,1 Sweden and Norway, 

■■. 1 :■ hi \l:'.r,l,:il, I ivu i-ral i.-SHuu ; 

n - V ■ rod Hunt, Governor S. N. Y., for 

Mllltar - ■ te I V'iv York," Ac. Ac, 

and Su_ nt with Steain 

Ini , ft Ac, 
D 1859, from the Field ind Stafi I li l tCBBa of his Command, 9th 
Hrig., I I > i v . . N. Y. S. I r ■ ' ■ md Apj.m iatioii of his 

Efforts toward i ■ Sclent Militia," Ac: m I8T0, of 

a M-j. Mil- i andCx* pa voted at the Annual 

■ i the Pol -mac) 
Onion, held if B. it a, Mm . 1 h 
U n >th, 1810, srbi a 
■ .■ was adopted to present KOold Vtdal oi ibe value of (600, to Gen. J. Watts de 

Prvbtr] I i ' ■ I ■ timonl i ■ :ij.|.["'ci:iiii'ii hy the Corps of hia eminent 

tirviet* in placing upon record the t i ■ ■ i entente, and in defending its 

. nan den and their men from ■ i d misrepresentation;" 

and of sen rml ction with the military sendee 

. i the State ol Men York. 

MRS i . md of the Minnesota Historical Societies, 

and of 1 1 College, t ■'•t'vaburo ; 

of tba Philosopmi »n - , v 

and of the Eutbrpeah S rry, i/< All, ,,'..>■ ■„. Penv 

and of the Gasman Literari 5o« ietY. ol Nebra Ira <'.,//„;,, X.f.raska City. 
HONORARY MEMBER ol the n. y. Bi ens Club. 

. .,! » [,i,|, C.l. A KIM Si hi YI.KR DE PeYSTER, 

i ing'l Fool U. A., wai Col I to whom ilu- " \ati.-nal Bard "I S. otland "addressed, 

" POEM ON LIFE,") 
and Liik Mbmbbr of tin of Nbw York, 

i iMVRfl de Pbyrtbb in /'.. Ifew World, wai 8ektptn t 1655, 

Alderman, ltjoft, Bur.jmi.i l '■! ■ ■ . 1677. Mayoralty offered and 

MEMBER 

of the New York, oftheRnonK [blaud (Newport) and of the PbhKSTLVAKIA Historical 

Societies, of the Mm m ,* op the State of Xew York, 

and of the Crkti Bi Ci l h. New York Citv. 

1.11 i MEMBER 

of the 1 i u - tv of Michigan. 

of the New York Gallbkv 01 FtHI Arts, and Director of the N. Y. Institution for the 



In 

of the Numishat I \i; 

LIFE MEMBER or FELLOW of tin Am 

i ton for the Bi 

D1SFBH8ART ; Li. I DlSBCTO] 

t of the 



1 Dm 

■ha'ological Society of New Y^ohk. 
i:u.\n Geographical Society; Patron of the 
LOBBD ORPHANS, and of the New York 
of the American Tract, and Life 
,b Society, N. Y. 



' "KKKsniMUM; MEMBER 
cal SocTETTBaof Maine, of Vxrmont, of Rhode Tsland, (Providence,) 
t, and of WlSOONBlM ; of ihe LONG Island and of the Bcvfalo 
torical SocnrriBS; of the New England Historio-Genealogical 
Society ; of the Quebec Literary & HISTORICAL Society ; 
of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society 
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 
etc. etc. etc. 



i 



11 



At a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Hoffman 
Fire Insurance Company of New York, Mr. M. F. Hodges, Presi- 
dent of the Board, in appropriate terms announced to the Directors 
the death of their esteemed associate and friend, Robert Parker 
Parrott, Esq. ; whereupon, on motion of Mr. George M. Miller, it 



Resolved, That a Committee, consisting of Frederic de Peyster, 
LL.D., and the President of the Board, be appointed to prepare a 
brief memoir and suitable resolutions. 

In accordance with which, Mr. de Peyster, as Chairman of the 
Committee, at a meeting called for the purpose, presented and read 
the following memoir. 



officers of the 
Hoffman Fire Insurance Co. 

M. F. HODGES, President. 
SAMUEL M. CRAFT, Vice-Prest. 

JOHN D. MACINTYRE, Secretary. 



DIRECTORS. 



William O. Hoffman, 
Frederic De Peyster, 
Samuel V. Hoffman, 
George M. Miller, 
Robert Schei.l, 
Walton H. Peckham, 
William O. Giles, 
Henry Lewis, 
Charles B. Hoffman, 
Robert L. Kennedy, 



James L. Morgan, 
C. D. Leverich, 
Albert Ward, 
Robert P. Parrott, 
Daniel L. Pettee, 
A. Dennison Williams, 
John H. Watson, 
Marcus F. Hodges, 
V. K. Stevenson, 
Samuel M. Craft. 



MEMOIR 



R 



OF 



OBERT TARKER TARROTT 



P. 




10BERT PARKER PARROTT was born 
in Lee, Strafford County, New Hampshire, 
on the 5th of October, 1804. At the age 
of sixteen he entered the United States Military 
Academy at West Point (having been appointed from 
his native State), and graduated from that institution 
in 1824, ranking third in honor in a class consisting 
of thirty-one members. He was immediately ap- 
pointed a Brevet Second Lieutenant, and assigned 
to the First Regiment of Artillery, United States 
Army; and on the same day (July 1, 1824) was 
commissioned Second Lieutenant of the Third Regi- 
ment of Artillery. On the 29th of August, 1824, he 
was appointed Assistant Professor of Natural and 
Experimental Philosophy in the Military Academy at 



8 Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 

West Point, which position he held until the 8th of 
September, 1 826, when he became Assistant Professor 
of Mathematics. On the 14th of September, 1828, 
he was made Principal Assistant Professor of Natural 
and Experimental Philosophy, and remained thus 
engaged during the ensuing twelve months, at the 
expiration of which he was ordered to garrison duty 
at Fort Constitution, New Hampshire. On the 27th 
of August, 1 83 1, he was promoted to be first Lieu- 
tenant in the Third Artillery, and assigned to duty at 
Fort Independence, Boston Harbor, where he re- 
mained till the early part of 1834. The ensuing two 
years were passed on ordnance duty ; and in 1836 
he served on staff duty in the military operations 
against the Creek Indians. The same year he was 
promoted to the rank of Captain in the Ordnance 
Department (his commission bearing date January 
13, 1836,) and served for a short time as Assistant 
in the Ordnance Bureau at Washington, D. C. He 
was afterwards assigned to duty at the West Point 
Iron and Cannon Foundry, located at Cold Spring, 
Putnam County, New York, which was the most ex- 
tensive establishment, for the manufacture of heavy 
-tins, in the United States. The Foundry Associa- 
tion — then under the presidency of Mr. Gouverneur 
Kemble — perceiving the ability of the young officer, 
made him such advantageous offers that he was in- 
duced to resign (October 31, 1836,) his commission 



Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. g 

in the Army, and accept the position of Superintend- 
ent of the West Point Foundry. He assumed the 
duties of this charge towards the close of 1836, and 
devoted himself with all the ardor of a youthful mind 
to the chosen work of his life. His intimacy 'with 
the family of Mr. Gouverneur Kemble resulted in an 
ardent attachment to Miss Mary Kemble — a sister of 
that gentleman — which was reciprocated, and their 
marriage took place in 1839. A few years later he 
was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas 
in Putnam County, and for a period of three years 
(from 1844 to 1847) discharged the duties of this 
judicial position with honor to himself and eminent 
satisfaction to the community. He was at all times 
regarded as a representative man in the district in 
which he resided, but was too actively engaged in the 
favorite work of his life to care to hold any promi- 
nent public office. His marked interest in the ad- 
vancement of the cause of education, of which he was 
a zealous supporter, led him, however, in 1853, to 
accept the office of Superintendent of Schools, ten- 
dered him by the people -of Philipstown, and his best 
efforts were exerted in discharo-ingr the duties of this 
congenial trust. 

The position of Captain Parrott at the West Point 
Foundry, gave him abundant opportunities for prose- 
cuting experiments in his favorite fields of research ; 
and from 1836 down to the commencement of hostili- 



io Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 

ties with the seceding States, these trials had been 
continually going on, with the final result of giving 
to the country and the world the famous rifled gun 
and projectiles which bear the name of their distin- 
guished inventor. 

These guns were first introduced into actual use 
at the Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861; and from 
that date until the close of the civil war, were exten- 
sively used by the Federal army and navy. Cap- 
tain Parrott succeeded in obtaining a longer ranore 
with his guns than had ever before been attained by 
artillery. The famous "Swamp Angel" (so called) 
was estimated to have a range of seven miles, which 
is doubtless exaggerated, although it is an ascertained 
fact that its range fell little short of six miles. A sin- 
gular fact in connection with this particular gun, is 
that, although the muzzle was blown off, the efficacy 
of the piece was not noticeably impaired. It is wor- 
thy of mention, also, that a thirty-pounder Parrott 
gun mounted at Cumming's Point, and used in the 
bombardment of Charleston, South Carolina, with- 
stood the extraordinary test of being fired four thou- 
sand six hundred and six times before bursting. 

A later work of Captain Parrott was the making 
of an improved mortar for the Life-Saving Service, 
which was not the least successful of his inventions. 
Upwards of forty years of patient study and arduous 
labor had placed Mr. Parrott in the possession of an 



Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 1 1 

ample fortune. Unlike many persons of large wealth, 
he did not defer his benefactions till after death. On 
the contrary, preferring" to act the almoner during 
life, he was ever ready in the work of Christian char- 
ity, distributing with a liberal hand to the needy and 
deserving, and contributing freely to the aid of reli- 
gious, humane, and educational projects. He expend- 
ed freely of his means in the work of beautifying the 
village in which he resided, and in providing a better 
class of residences for his workmen, and was active 
at all times in promoting the best interests of the 
community. Besides numerous and liberal contribu- 
tions to the support of the church at large, he was a 
steady supporter of the cause of religion in the parish 
of which he was a resident. 

A most enduring monument of his faith and zeal 
is the magnificent church known as St. Mary's-in-the- 
Highlands (pronounced, from its massive and endur- 
ing character, as well as the grand simplicity of its 
proportions, to be without a rival in this country), 
which — including cost of land — was erected at an 
expense of about one hundred thousand dollars, the 
entire amount, with the exception of five thousand 
dollars contributed by Mr. Frederic P. James, being 
the liberal gift of Mr. Parrott. 

Possessed of an excellent constitution, which his 
active life and regular habits still further strengthened, 
he remained engaged in his business duties up to the 



1 2 Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 

day of his contracting the fatal illness which termina- 
ted his existence. 

The parishioners of St. Mary's missed him one 
Sunday morning from his accustomed place in 
church, and inquiry elicited the fact that he was pre- 
vented from attending the services by a sudden cold. 
Towards the close of the day the physicians in at- 
tendance found that he was sufferino- from conges- 
tion of the lungs, and, despite the most careful and 
scientific treatment, the patient breathed his last on 
the morning o( Monday, the 24th of December, 
1877, and within a few hours of being taken ill. 

The sorrow which pervaded the community upon 
his decease becoming generally known, was both 
profound and universal. His large-hearted benevo- 
lence, pure life, and laudable public spirit, had en- 
deared him to all, and the grief which the news of 
his death occasioned was no less heartfelt than it 
was universal. Identified for a period of forty years 
with the village and vicinity of Cold Spring, the 
prosperity of which locality was so largely the result 
of his intelligence and energy, his sudden taking 
away — although in the full maturity of his life — was 
to nearly all of his fellow-citizens like the loss of 
a dear friend. The workmen of the West Point 
Foundry, among whom he had passed more than 
half his life, and those employed in Bedford County, 
Pennsylvania, by the Kemble Coal and Iron Com- 



Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 13 

pany, and at the Riddlesburg furnaces (over both of 
which he had ably exercised the direction and su- 
perintendence), deplored his loss as a serious mis- 
fortune. Nor was the sorrow occasioned by his 
death merely a local one. The Ordnance Depart- 
ment of the United States Army, with which he had 
held the most intimate relations for so long a period, 
and which had thoroughly appreciated his eminent 
scientific attainments, as well as his genial nature 
and high soldierly qualities, expressed the deepest 
and tenderest grief— General S. V. Benet, Chief of 
Ordnance, declaring in a letter to the proprietors of 
the West Point Foundry, that " Not one of all the 
virtues that keeps green the memory of the dead can 
be denied him ; but above all it can be written on 
his tomb — he was a good man." Hosts of friends 
throughout the country, and many both at home and 
abroad, who, through business relations with the 
kindly, unassuming, learned and Christian gentle- 
man, had learned to appreciate his worth, shared in 
the widespread grief occasioned by his loss, and 
extended to his bereaved family the warmest sym- 
pathy. 

The faithful supporter of religion, the earnest 
friend of education, the zealous citizen, eminent in 
science, active in the discharge of duty, sympathetic 
and liberal in charity — as philanthropist, judge, 
scholar, soldier, gentleman, and Christian, his char- 



14 Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 

acter was essentially based on a strict sense of 
duty, which he carried into all the relations of life. 
In this connection we are reminded of the words 
of the talented author of " Guesses at Truth," who 
says : 

" Duty is above all consequences, and often, at a 
crisis of difficulty, commands us to throw them over- 
board. Fiat Justitia pcrcat nutndus. It commands 
us to look neither to the right, nor to the left, but 
straight onward. Hence, every single act of Duty is 
altogether an act of Faith. It is performed in the 
assurance that God will take care of the consequen- 
ces, and will so order the course of the world that, 
whatever the immediate results may be, His word 
shall not return to Him empty." 

And the same author also remarks : " The wis- 
dom which aims at something nobler and more last- 
ing than the kingdom of this world, may now and 
then find that the kingdom of this world will fall into 
its lap. How much longer and more widely has 
Aristotle reigned than Alexander! with how much 
more power and glory Luther than Charles the 
Fifth ! " 

Seneca has said that " a orreat, a eood, and a 
right mind is a kind of divinity lodged in the flesh ; 
it came from Heaven, and to Heaven it must re- 
turn." 

A far nobler sentiment than this of Seneca was 



Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 15 

uttered by Job, in a much more distant age, which is 
still being reverberated, and will be also in every 
succeeding age, until Time shall be no more. 

"I know," he said, "that my Redeemer liveth, 
and will at the latter day stand on earth ; and that 
though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I 
shall see God." 

This is the Christian's hope, and the anchor of his 
soul. It was the guiding-star of the life of our de- 
parted associate. 

On the conclusion of the reading of this memoir, 
the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

Whereas, It has pleased Divine Providence to remove 
from the scene of his earthly labors and acknowledged use- 
fulness, Robert Parker Parrott, our late distinguished asso- 
ciate ; we, the Directors of the Hoffman Fire Insurance 
Company, being desirous of expressing our high appreci- 
ation of the public and private character of the deceased, 
hereby unanimously adopt the following Resolutions : 

Resolved, That we share in the general sorrow which ex- 
tends far beyond this community, at the loss of a citizen 
whose virtues, public services, and scientific attainments 
place him among the eminent men of our country. 

Resolved, That in the life of the deceased, fully out- 
lined in the preceding biographical sketch, we recognize a 
purity of character, a devotion to principle, and a patriotic 
love of country, which, combined with his practical genius 



1 6 Memoir of Robert Parker Parrott. 

and philosophical attainments, make us regard his death as 
a national loss. 

Resolved, That we consider his career as a soldier, his 
skill as an inventor, and his Christian and gentlemanly 
character as edifying in the highest degree, and, with his 
scientific attainments, such as to render his death a per- 
sonal loss, not only to each and all of the members of this 
Board, but to the community at large, to whom he was 
well known. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be recorded in the min- 
utes of this Board, and a copy be transmitted to the family 
of the late Captain Robert Parker Parrott, as expressing 
our sincere sorrow for the loss of this late associate and 
friend, and our profound sympathy with his bereaved rela- 
tives. 




FEB 23 1909 



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